About DiploFoundation

DiploFoundation is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development.

Diplo seeks to:

Increase the power of small and developing states to influence their own futures and development

Diplo does this by:

Using and developing tools for e-participation in global governance, including remote participation in international meetings and social media for global negotiations

Training officials (including diplomats and others involved in international relations) from small and developing countries

Providing specialised and effective academic programmes for professional diplomats seeking cost-effective but high-quality training in both traditional and contemporary diplomacy topics

Strengthening participation of non-state actors - including those from academia and civil society - in international relations and policy processes

Diplo’s main activities are:

Capacity development. Diplo’s capacity development support begins with individuals, but through the activities of these individuals, our impact reaches into the larger systems of which they and their organisations are a part. Our approach includes online training, policy research, policy immersion, and the development of communities of practice, combined in various ways, as appropriate to each policy context.

Events. In order to deal with pressing issues in global governance, our events bring together people from different perspectives, including diplomats, business professionals, and members of civil society. We work to make our events more accessible through e-tools that support remote participation. Our events often evolve into training activities, publications, or online interaction.

Courses. We offer postgraduate-level academic courses and training workshops on a variety of diplomacy-related topics for diplomats, civil servants, staff of international organisations and NGOs, and students of international relations. Combining a highly developed learning methodology with our unique online learning platform, our courses are flexible, personal, interactive, and community-building. Courses are delivered online, face-to-face, and in a blended format.

Publications. Our publications range from the examination of contemporary developments in diplomacy to new analyses of its traditional aspects. Many of our publications are available online as well as in print format and some have been translated into several languages. We also publish DiploNews, a biweekly e-mail newsletter distributed to a mailing list of over 5000 recipients.

Structure

Diplo has a small, flexible structure: some 30 managerial, research, technical, and administrative employees and around 70 teaching staff, tutors, coordinators, and project-related consultants. We turn over a yearly budget of about €1.5 million.

Reach

In 2018, 454 participants from 107 countries around the world attended 24 Diplo online and blended learning courses: 66% diplomats and other civil servants, 14% representatives from civil society, 13% staff of international organisations, 3% representatives of business, 2% from academia, and 2% from other sectors. Some 50% of the participants were female. The table below summarises online course statistics for the last three years.

We consistently achieve good results in community building: at present in our Internet governance community more than 1600 community members participate in 46 active discussion groups. Members of the Internet governance community network and build their own initiatives following common interests.

2016

2017

2018

Number of online courses

28

26

24

Number of online course participants

649

529

454

Number of countries represented

125

125

107

Approach

In this interdependent world, diplomacy is no longer just the ethically superior choice to military solutions, but a necessity for solving complex governance issues.

For many, diplomacy is an elitist world of secrecy and black limousines. Traditionally, it has been the organised machinery for maintaining relations among societies. But we believe that it is more than this: diplomacy is a tool for solving conflicts in modern society through negotiation and compromise.

Diplomacy is more important today than ever before. In our interconnected and interdependent world, we cannot solve problems just by using force (consider Iraq and Afghanistan). Diplomacy is therefore not just an ethically superior choice; it is practically the only one left to us.

But diplomacy is undermined by a fundamental imbalance. Small and developing states are in a relatively weak position in the conduct of international policy processes; their limited resources mean that they do not have a large enough pool of professional, confident, competent international staff. As a result, small and developing states are not equally or effectively represented, so the total effect is diminished and lacks the creativity they would bring. Also, they may feel excluded and therefore reluctant to commit to processes that they perceive do not represent their interests and needs.

Diplo is addressing this problem by helping small and developing states build the capacity to engage effectively in international policy processes, negotiations, and diplomacy.

Read Diplo's diplomacy blog channel for reflections on the history and meaning of diplomacy, with contributors including Diplo Director Jovan Kurbalija.

Origins

Diplo emerged from a project to introduce information and communication technology (ICT) tools to the practice of diplomacy, initiated in 1992 at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta. In November 2002, Diplo was established as an independent non-profit foundation by the governments of Malta and Switzerland.

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Towards more inclusive and effective diplomacy

Diplo is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development.